Emmy-Winner Oscar Dominguez on Lighting “The Voice” and his Non-Conventional Route to Success

You may not know Oscar Dominguez's name, but I can almost guarantee you've seen his work. The Emmy-winning lighting designer has over 20 years of experience in TV production and currently designs for "The Voice," "Shark Tank," and the "Bachelor" franchise. He is also the founder of Darkfire Inc., an LA-based design company with "a stable of excellent lighting directors" that works on shows like "World of Dance," "The Wall," "Beat Shazam," "Wipeout," and "Weakest Link," among others.

Now a premier television lighting designer, Dominguez took a "non-conventional route" to kickstart his career. A creative but lost teenager, he dropped out of high school at 16. But his life changed when crew members from a small production company started frequenting a Mexican restaurant his father managed in Van Nuys. Knowing his son was an avid photographer and in need of a job, Dominguez's dad asked them for advice. They agreed to have him come in the following day and met their resident lighting director and overall boss, Dennis Weiler. That turned into a tour of the facility and a job. "I didn't know anything," Dominguez told me over Zoom, "but I cleaned things and painted cycs and learned how to fix lights." A few months later, he got another break when an electrician didn't show up for a job. "They went, 'Hey, here's a wrench, take this light and hang it up there,'" he said, "that's how I started."

Years went by and Dominguez started "getting more gigs and going up the rungs of the ladder." He worked on several landmark shows of the mid-2000s including "America's Next Top Model," "Fear Factor" and "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader," and was mentored by Simon Miles, "one of the greatest TV lighting designers alive today," whose lengthy resume includes shows like "Dancing with the Stars" and "Survivor." While Miles is "amazing" and taught him "an incredible amount," Dominguez knew it was time to spread his wings. He started Darkfire in 2007. "We're a little bit Maverick-y," Dominguez says of the work they specialize in, "We don't necessarily work in the most conventional methods. We like to do interesting things, experiment with different gear, light placement, interesting truss designs. We like to have fun. It's important because when it stops being fun, the creativity suffers."

One of his most high profile – and favorite – gigs is on "The Voice," which he's been doing since the first season in 2011. "There are a lot of challenges but being involved with a show like this is the dream gig," Dominguez, an avid music fan, says about working on the hit NBC singing competition. But unlike other Darkfire shows like "Shark Tank," which features one unchanging set, "The Voice" is split into three distinct rounds – the blind auditions, the battles/knockouts and the live performances – that each have their own "plot and vibe."

For each, Dominguez will get a 3D drawing of the set in Vectorworks from the production designer. "I'll spend days just getting an understanding of the room," he explains, "the shapes start to dictate where the rigging will go. Then you lay it out and start light selection." It always comes down to problem-solving. "Where do I need to put these follow spots to get the maximum amount of flexibility? How do we not have these typical flat washes?"

Things become a "crazy, insane scramble" in the live rounds, which acts as a new 90-minute concert each week. That process starts with a meeting with the producers who pitch the concept for each song – an outdoor backyard theme, or perhaps the contestant singing alone at a piano on a raised platform. On Fridays, they block the performances without cameras and Dominguez can start fine-tuning the lighting. Because of all the quick set changes, "the rig needs to be very, very flexible and has to go from a massive, boisterous, flashy, kinetic [numbers] to a quiet ballad with a beautiful, single light source."

Saturday and Sunday are rehearsal days and the shows air live Mondays and Tuesdays. "It's just this big fun machine" that comes down to a lot of innovation and delegation. "I have an outstanding crew," Dominguez says, always quick to give his team credit, "I'll draw this crazy plan, but then they have to make it come to life." The techs and programmers then come together to brainstorm and finalize each look. "It takes a village. The crew is your lifeline. It's very, very important that you take care of them and they will take care of you."

For "The Voice," Dominguez's goal is to "translate that theatrical, concert feel into television production." It's entirely different for another one of his long-standing projects. "The Bachelor," "Bachelorette" and "Bachelor in Paradise" are filmed outside and in real locations. "The important thing was setting the vibe and tone for the whole show," he says, "it's a different canvas, a different style of painting, but it's painting nonetheless." Dominguez was brought into the franchise in 2003 when "Bachelorette" launched. The producers wanted more of a "fantasy vibe with candles" than its predecessor. "Psychologically speaking, if it's lit like a supermarket, it's more difficult to be emotional or romantic for the people on set trying to find love," he explains, "We made sure that we lit it at the lowest possible level so that when you walk into the mansion, it doesn't feel like you're in the spotlight." But the lighting – handled by Darkfire's Dennis Weiler and Yudah Holman – has its own challenges. Because the mansion is a real house, they can't bring in the complex rigs and trusses used on a soundstage. "We do very lightweight speed rail pipe grids, small fixtures, very methodically thought out. We need to get the home consumer version of a lighting rig and hang it in there."

COVID-19 has also been a challenge for Dominguez, both in terms of the "at home" episodes of "The Voice" last Spring and the lingering isolation on his current work. Set restrictions mean Dominguez must work in a separate trailer on the "Voice" lot rather than in the control room with director Alan Carter. Adjusting the lighting plots via monitor and not getting to feed off Carter's "active and awesome" energy during the live shows has been "really difficult." But still, in just a short Zoom conversation, you get a deep sense of how much Dominguez enjoys his job after so many years in the business. "I have a massive love for new gear," he told me towards the end of our discussion before sharing his screen and pulling up a complicated lighting plot for an upcoming Netflix shows I'm not allowed to name. His passion was infectious.

"It's an unusual path to start from electrician to lighting designer, but it's good because you really learn the tools," he recounted, "I have a pretty good understanding of how the equipment functions because I used to hang them." For the next generation of lighting designers and technicians, Dominguez says that being well-rounded and curious is key to success. "Learn what everyone does so that you can be a harmonious, symbiotic part of the production" whether you get your start on a "television show or a green screen at some tiny dodgy place downtown; the smallest theater production or 'Hamilton,' it doesn't matter." What's most important, he says, is "staying humble and hungry. You can be phenomenal, the best ever, but no one likes working with someone who's abrasive or not nice. There is no room in the world for that nonsense. Check your attitude at the door and learn everything. Humility and respect for the craft are paramount."

To learn more about Oscar Dominguez or Darkfire Inc., visit their website.  “The Voice’s” 21st season premieres September 20 on NBC.